Halmatic's steel product range is divided into four separate categories: Ferries, Workboats, Patrol Boats, and Multi Role Vessels (MRVs).

With its MRV range, available in lengths from 13 to 24m, Halmatic enters a competitive arena in which the Damen Multi-Cat and IHC Delta Shipyard's MultiCraft are established market leaders.

The first Halmatic MRV to enter service is an innovative oil spill recovery vessel variant of the MRV 20. The Haven Hornbill was delivered in June for Harwich Haven Authority and provides immediate response capability to the spillage of oil and other pollutants within the Haven, which includes the UK's busiest container port at Felixstowe. The multi-role nature of the craft will pay dividends for the Authority, as Haven Hornbill's expansive working deck, hydraulic crane, towing winch and 12 tonnes bollard pull will enable the performance of a range of other duties when not deployed for spill response and training.

The Haven Hornbill was constructed and fitted out to comply with the MCA Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Workboats and Pilot Boats and certificated as a Category 3 vessel, allowing operation up to 20 miles from safe haven.

The hull is of flat bottom single chine configuration and is of welded steel construction throughout, with the bottom plating of 10 mm plate and the sides, bow plate and transom of 8 mm plate. These scantlings are in excess of 20% greater than the rule requirements. Internally, the hull is divided into seven watertight compartments by six transverse watertight or oil tight bulkheads. Deck plating is also 10 mm plate and the superstructure consists of two tiers sited to port of the centreline aft of amidships. The lower tier houses a day cabin, wc, galley and mess while the upper tier is the wheelhouse, with the elevation providing an excellent view for all vessel operations.

Main propulsion is by two Scania DI14 74M marine diesel engines, rated 406 kW at 1,800 rpm. Each drives a fixed pitch propeller in a nozzle, with a single rudder aft of each. Drive is through ZF Model BW 155 (ZF550) parallel offet reverse reduction marine gearboxes with 3.042:1 reduction. Each gearbox is fitted with a mechanical trolling valve operated from the bridge. This propulsion arrangement is good for a top speed of 13.6 knots, providing surprisingly rapid mobilisation to the site of any spill within the Haven or offshore.

A Scania D9-95M marine diesel rated 217 kW at 1,800 rpm is close coupled at each end to Roquet hydraulic pumps for primary hydraulic power to the oil recovery system and back-up supply to the deck equipment.

Clutchable power take-offs from the main engine gearbox input shafts drive Roquet hydraulic pumps to provide primary hydraulic power for the deck equipment and back-up for the oil recovery system. A Watermota, Lister (Stanford) powered genset with an output of 28 kVa at 1,500 rpm is installed in the machinery space, with 12v DC engine start and stop from a control panel situated by the helm.

Haven Hornbill is equipped to skim oil from the water surface on either side or both sides of the vessel, with skimming booms directing the oil into hydraulically operated doors on the waterline which are lockable and watertight when not is use. The innovative oil recovery system is designed and supplied by Oy LMP Patents Ltd and comprises a complete Lori type LORS HK-4/3.5 system with four brushes to port and four to starboard. These are incorporated in oil recovery channels located outboard at midships, the compartments measuring 4.8m long and1.2m wide in casings built on the main deck with top opening hatches for maintenance and removal of casings. The oil skimming booms are supported by aluminium alloy constructed side jibs which are neatly stored in the recovery chanels when not in use.

For separating oil and debris, the recovery chanels are fitted with standard LORI brush packs, each with four brush chains mounted in aluminium alloy frames 3.5m long. The brushes are cleaned by a comb installed at the upper end to gravity discharge oil and debris into the collection hopper.

The recovered oil is dropped from the brushes into the receiving sump from where it is transferred to the recovered oil tanks by two Desmi model DOP-250 heavy duty submersible, hydraulically powered pumps complete with cutting knives for debris. Output of up to 70m 3per hour is pumped to dedicted forward and aft recovered oil tanks which have a total capacity of 74,000 litres.

Two hydraulically driven discharge pumps include a Desmi model DOP-250 in the forward tank and a DOP-160 in the aft tank. These heavy duty submersibles also feature cutting knives and have outputs of up to 70m 3per hour respectively. Discharge is through a standpipe on the aft deck.

The vessel has two power supplies, 220/1/50 AC and 24v DC, each is generated and distributed on separate systems.

220/1/50 is supplied either by the generating set or from a shore supply through a deck socket and distributed through a switchboard mounted in the console at the helm to the various circuits.

The versatility which will enable Haven Hornbill to perform towing, buoy tending, dredging and construction support and other roles within the Haven owes much to the deck machinery onboard. The Heila model HLRM 35-3S hydraulic knuckle boom crane mounted on a pedestal forward to port on the main deck has hydraulic extension capacities ranging from 12.1 tonnes at 2.91m to 2.8 tonnes at 11.03m. The crane is used to deploy and retrieve the oil skimming booms and their supporting side jibs, an operation demonstrated for Maritime Journal which involved three of the four man crew deployed for oil spill recovery operations.

The winch, mounted on the main deck aft of the superstructure, is a Spencer Carter MW8 hydraulic single drum model with warping drum 10 tonne first layer pull, manual band brake, manual dog clutch and a forward-neutral-reversing control valve. Its capacity is 140m by 22mm, five layers.

Protection is critical for any vessel destined for such an arduous working life. In the case of the Haven Hornbill, Halmatic worked closely with Jotun Paints, the only coatings manufacturer to also produce anodes/cathodic protection systems for a turnkey corrosion protection package.

Haven Hornbill is coated with an epoxy primer system for wear resistance and finished with a single pack topcoat system to aid simplified maintenance.

For Halmatic, the Haven Hornbill marks an impressive debut for their steel built MRV range and puts the UK on the map as a supplier of such vessels.

Already a second MRV 20 is in the advanced stages of fit out for Scotland's Gareloch Support Services. A conventional MRV, it will be equipped with a high capacity crane and winch for its role as a handling and mooring vessel when commissioned in late summer. Halmatic sources tell MJ that further MRV orders are in the pipeline.

MJ Information No: 17323